Hillel the Elder

Hillel
the Elder (Hillel
Hazaken) is one of the most influential rabbis in Jewish history. He was
the head of a school, the House of
Hillel, that eventually became the primary academy for Torah study prior to the destruction of the Second Temple. His title, the Elder, differentiated him from the
later Hillels, including his descendant, Hillel Hakatan (“the Small”). He is
the ancestor of Judah the Prince, who compiled the Mishnah. To this day, his teachings and lessons are integral to Jewish perspective and practice.

In this article:

Hillel’s
Early Life

Hillel the Elder was born around the year 110
BCE1 in Babylon2. His only
recorded sibling is his brother, Shevna. At the age of forty, his intense
desire to study more Torah led him to
Jerusalem to study under Shemaya and Avtalyon, who were then leaders of the
Jewish world.

Hillel’s
Desire to Study

Hillel was very poor in his younger days, and
the expense of traveling to Israel caused his financial state to worsen even
more. He would earn only half a dinar for an entire day’s work, some of which
he spent to gain admittance into the study hall. The entrance fee was one
quarter of a dinar, leaving him with a daily allowance of one quarter of a
dinar to live on. Yet, even in such poverty, Hillel the Elder never considered
using the money on anything other than the study of Torah.

One Friday, he found no work. Unable to pay
the entrance fee, he was denied admittance into the study hall of Shemaya and
Avtalyon. Hillel was so determined to continue learning that he climbed on to
the roof and listened to the lecture through a skylight.

It was the depths of winter, and snow began to
fall. Hillel remained on the roof all night, and was buried in snow. The next
morning, Shemaya realized that there was a figure blocking the sunlight. The
students retrieved him from the roof, and even though it was Shabbat, lit a
fire to warm him. Although it is forbidden to light a flame on Shabbat, one is
commanded to do so in the case of saving a life; in fact, it was counted as a
merit for the men who rescued Hillel, the very sage who continues to exemplify
devotion to Torah study.3

Hillel’s brother, Shevna, was a successful
businessman. One day, he approached Hillel with a proposition. Shevna would
support Hillel, and Hillel would share half his merit of Torah study with his
brother. Hillel the Elder categorically refused, adamant4
that his Torah study was worth far beyond any material goods that Shevna could
offer.5

The
School of Hillel

One day, a heated and important debate arose among
the Bnei Beteira6 about the
proper method of sacrificing the Passover offering on Shabbat. Unable to
resolve the issue, and desperately needing a conclusive answer, the rabbis
turned to Hillel the Elder. Using exacting
logic and proofs, Hillel the Elder settled the question that had stumped
the greatest of minds. After such a display of Torah prowess, Hillel was
appointed the leader of Jewry,7 a position
he held for forty years (approximately
one hundred years before the destruction of the Second Temple8).

Hillel taught eighty students, each of whom
became a great rabbi. Thirty of them were so great that they were worthy to
have the sun stand still for them, as it did with Joshua. Another thirty were
said to be worthy of prophetic vision on the level of Moses. The final twenty
were on an intermediate level. Included among his students were Rabban Yochanan
ben Zakkai and Yonatan ben Uziel.9

Hillel established a school of thought that
attracted many students and became the center of Torah study in his time. His
school lasted for many years after his passing and proved to be one of the most
influential academies of all times, ruling on every area of Jewish law. His
institution found itself in opposition to the other academy of the time, which
was formed by Hillel’s colleague, Shammai.

The two schools, called Beit Hillel and Beit
Shammai, debated many topics in Jewish law, with the halachahusually being resolved in favor of the School of Hillel.
Hillel was a man of kindness, and he passed that characteristic on to his
students. Beit Hillel, therefore, generally took a more compassionate approach.

Hillel:
A Man of Kindness

Hillel’s tolerance and understanding
personality were renowned. One Friday afternoon, as Hillel the Elder was busily
preparing for Shabbat, a man came to his door and demanded to speak with him.
Hillel calmly dressed himself in proper attire and went to speak with his
visitor to find out what was so urgent. The man related a question: Why were Babylonians’ heads unusually round?
This was a dig at the Babylonian-born Hillel. Without missing a beat, Hillel
answered that the unusual shape of their
heads was due to improper care by midwives.

The man left, seemingly satisfied. A few
minutes later, though, he was back, once again with an all-important query.
This time he wanted to know about the squinted eyes of the residents of Tadmur.
Hillel answered him and he left. This cycle repeated itself again, with the man
asking about the wide feet ascribed to the people of Africa.

After the third question and another
even-keeled response from Hillel, the man became very upset. He told Hillel
that he had bet his friend four hundred zuz
that he could get Hillel the Elder upset. Now, he would lose four hundred zuz! Hillel smiled and said, “Better you
lose four hundred zuz than I get
upset.”10

Beyond his masterful self-control, Hillel was
also exceptionally holy. A heavenly voice once pronounced that Hillel the Elder
had merited to have been a prophet; however, the shortcomings of his generation
prevented that from happening.11

Hillel
and the Convert

Hillel the Elder is most famous for his tolerant
and welcoming persona. This character trait is exemplified by the following
story:

A non-Jew once came before Shammai with a
curious demand. He wanted Shammai to teach him the entire Torah while the
non-Jew stood on one foot. Knowing the impossibility of such a thing, Shammai
rejected him. The questioner then took his request to Hillel the Elder. Hillel
gently told him, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That
is the entire Torah, and the rest is its commentary. Now go and study.”12

Teachings
of Hillel

Hillel also championed empathy, saying: “Do
not judge your friend until you have stood in his place.”13

We evoke Hillel every year at the PesachSeder, when we eat the matzah and marror sandwich,
reflecting Hillel’s practice to wrap the Passover lamb, matzah and bitter herbs
and eat them all together.14

Hillel was once walking by a river and saw a
floating skull. Recognizing that it belonged to a murderer, he turned to it and said: “You drowned because you drowned
others, and those who drowned will eventually drown.15”

Hillel
on Health

Hillel was once walking down the street with
his students when he changed directions and began walking towards the bath
house. When his students asked him where he was headed, he responded, “To
fulfill a commandment from G‑d! I am going to take a bath.”

Seeing their confusion, Hillel the Elder said,
“If statues of kings that are made in the likeness of a mortal of flesh and
blood require cleaning and polishing, how much more so our bodies, which were
created in the likeness of G‑d.”16

Hillel would constantly emphasize the
importance of taking care of one’s physical health, even going so far as to
comparing his soul to a guest inside his own body. Just as one must prepare the
room properly, with all its amenities, for an honored guest, so too must a
person take care that one’s body is a worthy space for the soul.17

The
Pruzbul

Perhaps the most influential enactment of
Hillel was that of the pruzbul.
Individuals resisted lending because a Shemmitah cancels debts; in turn, this had a negative impact on the economy.
Hillel established a system whereby creditors could assign their debt to the
court, making it into a public debt that is unaffected by Shemmitah.18

Hillel’s
Passing and Legacy

Hillel the Elder passed away around the year 8
CE. At his funeral, he was eulogized as a “pious, humble and righteous man, and
student of Ezra the Scribe.”19Hillel began an illustrious line of
descendants, including Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel and Judah the Prince, author
of the Mishnah. His teachings and lessons have become ingrained in Jewish
culture, making a permanent mark on the ethos of Judaism today.

Talmud Bavli Shabbat 31a. See Tosafot ad.
Loc.who explain that although a convert must commit to unconditionally observe
all 613 commandments and the entire body of Jewish law, Hillel recognized the
sincerity of that potential convert and knew that he would indeed commit to
observing all the mitzvot.

Rabbi Mendel Adelman was born and raised in Amherst, Mass. He attended yeshivot in New Haven, Conn., and Brooklyn, N.Y., where he completed the entire Talmud by the age of 19. He currently lives in Atlanta, Ga., where he writes and lectures on Jewish law.

Sefira Ross is a freelance designer and illustrator whose original creations grace many Chabad.org pages. Residing in Seattle, Washington, her days are spent between multitasking illustrations and being a mom.